In a resistance-change memory, a current is supplied and a voltage applied to a resistance-change element as a memory cell to change the resistance of the resistance-change element, and this change in resistance is used to store data in a nonvolatile manner. The resistance-change memory is a two-terminal element and has a simple configuration. By forming a cross-point memory cell array configuration by using the resistance-change memory, the capacity of the resistance-change memory is easier to increase than it is with earlier configurations.
The resistance-change element includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a variable resistance layer disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. The variable resistance layer has a filament, and it is considered that the shape, for example, length and thickness of the filament vary in a high-resistance state or a low-resistance state.